On May 26, 1838, the Native Americans were forced to leave their homes and land with only the clothes on their back. They were put into cattle pins and basically shipped west of the Mississippi. To rest, they were told to lie on the ground in the cold and rainy night. Infants and elders were of the first to die off. At one point it snowed and the Mississippi River froze; leaving the Native American people with no water. Their travels were marked by outbreaks of cholera, inadequate supplies, bitter cold, and death from starvation and exhaustion. The Cherokees' march was a forced one under the direction of the United States army, and it came to be known as the "Trail of Tears" or, in their own term, "The Place Where They Cried." Removal was a tragedy as thousands of people were forced to leave behind their homes, livestock, crops, and places that had spiritual significance for them. Class Notes from Trail of Tears video and http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/indianremoval.htm

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Cimone

5/18/2010

In my opinion, I think that the Indian Removal Act had many emotional and health effects. Many of the Native Americans fell very ill while they were on the "Trail of Tears." It was a long and strenuous journey that took them a long time. This and slavery are two of the black eyes in American History.

The Indian Removal Act gave the federal government the power to relocate any Native Americans in the east to territory that was west of the Mississippi River. Though the Native Americans were to be compensated, this was not always done fairly and in some cases led to the further destruction of many of the already diminishing numbers of many of the eastern tribes.

The Cherokee Nation was allocated land in Georgia as a result of the 1791 treaty with the U.S. Government. In 1828, not only did whites for settlement purposes desire their land, but gold was discovered. Georgia tried to reclaim this land in 1830, but the Cherokee protested and took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court decided in favor of the Cherokee, however, the President and Congress forced the Native Americans to give up their land. 1838 called in federal troops in to “escort” approximately 15,000 Cherokee people to their new home in Indian Territory. On the way, approx. 1/3 of the Cherokee people died.

Missionary societies who had invested their time and money teaching Indians to live with their white neighbors and accept Christianity lobbied Congress to oppose the act. It finally passed, but only by a one-vote margin, in September of 1830. The Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creeks, and Seminoles signed treaties agreeing to leave their homes in the southeast and move west. Their travels were marked by outbreaks of cholera, inadequate supplies, bitter cold, and death from starvation and exhaustion. The Cherokees' march was a forced one under the direction of the United States army, and it came to be known as the "Trail of Tears" or, in their own term, "The Place Where They Cried." Removal was a tragedy as thousands of people were forced to leave behind their homes, livestock, crops, and places that had spiritual significance for them. passed the Indian Removal Act which gave the federal government the power to relocate any Native Americans in the east to territory that was west of the Mississippi River. Though the Native Americans were to be compensated, this was not always done fairly and in some cases led to the further destruction of many of the already diminishing numbers of many of the eastern tribes.

In the 1830's without the Supreme Courts approval, Andrew Jacskon passed the Indian Removal Act. This act, "escorted" many Native Americans to George.

During this "escort", Native Americans were faced with many obstucales, some of which people did not survive.

Durng the trip heavy weather hit the Trail. Rain,wind,and snow caused many Native American's lives. Many Native Americans did not have shoes,and it was said that blood was found in the snow from where a Native American's bloody scrapped feet met the ground.

The Native Americans Greeted the Pioneers with open arms, and they betrayed them. The relationship between the Governemtn and Native Americans were ruined. They no longer trusted the Government. They were forced out of their land,where they have been for hundreds of years. Where they grew up,and their culture lived in.

Reply

Cimone

5/19/2010

In 1838, the United States government forcibly removed more than 16,000 Cherokee Indian people from their homelands in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia, and sent them to Indian Territory (today known as Oklahoma). The impact to the Cherokee was devastating. Hundreds of Cherokee died during their trip west, and thousands more perished from the consequences of relocation. This tragic chapter in American and Cherokee history became known as the Trail of Tears, and culminated the implementation of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which mandated the removal of all American Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River to lands in the West.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/trail-of-tears.htm